In Rapt, acclaimed behavioral science writer Winifred Gallagher makes the argument that the quality of your life largely depends on what you choose to pay attention to and how you choose to do it.

Gallagher grapples with provocative questions -- Can we train our focus? What's different about the way creative people pay attention? Why do we often zero in on the wrong factors when making big decisions? -- driving us to reconsider what we think we know about attention.

As suggested by the expression pay attention, this cognitive currency is a finite resource that we must learn to spend wisely. In Rapt, Gallagher introduces us to a diverse cast of characters -- artists and ranchers, birders and scientists -- who have learned to do just that and whose stories are profound lessons in the art of living the interested life.

No matter what your quotient of wealth, looks, brains, or fame, increasing your satisfaction means focusing more on what really interests you and less on what doesn't. In asserting its groundbreaking thesis -- the wise investment of your attention is the single most important thing you can do to improve your well-being -- Rapt yields fresh insights into the nature of reality and what it means to be fully alive. Download and start listening now!

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Listener Opinions

Elizabeth | 2/16/2014

" Really interesting content, not terribly well presented. But it's made me very aware of how distracted I am much of the time. "

Janie | 2/9/2014

" Meta-attention is a most important and useful study. Attention is key to happiness. There are valuable ideas in here. Many of them could be more effectively presented. The author has a very tenuous grasp on the importance of the differences in types of attention/focus and I worry the impact of this weakness could be negative. I suggest The Open Focus Brain as a companion/balancing piece, especially if you're looking for a little bit of how-to. "

Cade Bonar | 1/23/2014

" The writing is so poor and meandrous that I made it to p. 157 and then had to stop... These meanderings - in a book about focused attention - make it quite unreadable... Focus your attention elsewhere. "

Kristen | 1/23/2014

" Ironic isn't it? The booke entitled "Rapt," simply couldn't hold my attention. Maybe someday I'll give it a try because the idea of the book was intriguing. "

Ann M | 1/19/2014

" I'm liking this book a lot so far, tho it started off a bit slowly. It works as an overview of a lot of research on the subject of attention and flow, and makes points that are worth making: that what we pay attention to becomes our life; that there is living and there is thinking about living, kind of like the grasshopper and the ant, and that we have to consciously balance the two. "

Katrina | 1/11/2014

" Interesting take on how attention, well spent, can change your emotional and physical life. Three pages on the "myth of multi-tasking" I'd wish my students would read and attend to, in particular. :) "

Maheswaran | 1/7/2014

" It did require a lot of focus to get finished :) "

Jeff Vankooten | 12/23/2013

" This is an extremely valuable book to read during these accelerated times of change. "

Lisa M. | 12/5/2013

" This book is so interesting, and artfully written. It's essential premise is that happiness in life is determined less by what we have or do, than by what we attend...what we focus on. "

Rachelle | 9/12/2013

" It is intellectual, scholarly, and a little disjointed. It felt like a long executive summary. "

Eric | 9/2/2013

" Attention and focus are some of the brain's greatest resources. "

Jenny | 7/22/2013

" Ironically, I had a hard time focusing on this book and wasn't actually able to finish it. I'm going to give it another shot when I'm not distracted by school reading. "

Janet Madsen | 6/20/2013

" What we pay attention to determines how we live our lives. I chose this book because the title intrigued me. What is the benefit of a focused life. What I really want to know is how can I get more reading done? "

Andrea | 8/20/2012

" Excellent summary of what is known on the benefits of paying attention. The book is both captivating and useful. "

Greg | 7/6/2012

" The book wanders and doesn't really have much insightful to say. It is, in fact, not worth paying much attention to. "

katie | 3/22/2012

" i'm already crazy about this book "

Carol | 2/9/2012

" Pay attention to things and people in your life because what you focus on becomes your future. "

Andrea | 5/10/2011

" Excellent summary of what is known on the benefits of paying attention. The book is both captivating and useful.
"

Gena | 11/8/2010

" Not riveting. Useful perspective and information on attention/focus.... but, dare I say it, I had trouble maintaining focus on it... Still, it did flow better than most books of this nature that I have read--not nearly so 'academic' in the writing as it could have been.
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Nathan | 10/12/2010

" Here's what I learned from this book: everybody should meditate. It doesn't matter what you meditate on. I'm suspicious of the non-sectarian part of this argument, but I thought the book was fascinating. So now I'm going to go trance out.
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Rajib | 9/14/2010

" Fascinating layman's guide to recent developments in cognitive research with extended sections relating to Buddhism and ADD/ADHD.
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Courtney | 7/3/2010

" This is like a scientific view of Buddha/yoga-like mind.
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Kevin | 6/18/2010

" Great book if you've got a wondering mind. Shows you convincingly that happiness is directly connected to your ability to pay focused attention to something
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Lisa | 5/11/2010

" This book is so interesting, and artfully written. It's essential premise is that happiness in life is determined less by what we have or do, than by what we attend...what we focus on.
"

Other Titles by Winifred Gallagher:

About the Author

Winifred Gallagher’s books include House Thinking, Just the Way You Are (a New York Times Notable Book), Working on God, The Power of Place, Rapt: Attention and the Focused Life, and New: Understanding Our Need for Novelty and Change. She has written for numerous publications, such as Atlantic Monthly, Rolling Stone, and the New York Times. She lives in Manhattan and Dubois, Wyoming.

About the Narrator

Laural Merlington is an audiobook narrator with over two hundred titles to her credit and a winner of multiple Earphones Awards. An Audie Award nominee, she has also directed over one hundred audiobooks. She teaches college in her home state of Michigan.

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